Shoes that lasted three years, then suddenly died

I got new boots today because the old ones finally quit — the sole split mid-shift and I felt the cold through them before I noticed. There's something honest about a thing that does its job until it can't. Three years of stairs and dispatch floor and one emergency call where I ran further than I should have. I took a picture of them before tossing them in the bin. Felt like the right thing to do.